Did you buy because they showed you the ad? Was this the primary factor in your buying decision? If so, you got a cheap education about the wisdom in believing advertisements, with a free stereo thrown in. If not, you got a cheap education in the necessity of listening before you buy. And your roomates enjoy the sound. Sounds to me like you got a bargain.

Quote:Hi Clifton,I guess I see it a little different from you. I feel that, in this instance, the target audience is NOT your average Stereophile reader.

Hello, all.

I just signed up here because I bought a couple of the speakers yesterday out of the back of a new red Ford Expedition. They gave me some spiel about missing a delivery and they had these extra and they had to sell them now before they took them back and their boss took them from them. They showed the ad in this magazine, but that really didn't matter to me since I have previously never heard of it. My brother was there telling me not to buy them, but I did and then took them home. He told me that the magazine was printed by them to "prove" that they are expensive systems.

I have yet to hook them up and check out the quality. I do have his license plate number if I need to report them as stolen... don't know whether they are or not though.

I have done some searching for info on these speakers, but haven't found much more than this thread.

I only paid $140 though for 2 Elite Audio 400 Watt TOWER SPEAKER EA-2880's. I found this page on E-Bay selling just 1 of them for $150.

I won't know whether or not I was duped until I actually try them out.

Hook 'em up. Let us know. If they sound okay, be sure to change your forum sign-in handle. If they don't? Well, $140 isn't a very high level scam, these days. I am glad you got the guy's license number -- if you don't like the speakers, you can find the car and do a custom installation, inserting a speaker through each side window. Cheers, Clifton

It seems most of the stories of being duped are grounded in the premise that someone made an error and shipped extra speakers, which, instead of being honestly returned to the true owner, are offered to the pure and unsullied neophyte audiophiles who then come here to blame Stereophile for their troubles.

Dudes, beyond the fact that you were shown an ad making outrageous claims, you pretty much all were lead to your outcome through some degree of avariciousness and dishonesty. The whole set up is one in which you are buying ill gotten goods. On that level alone, I think you got what you deserve.

If you blame it all on the Stereophile ad, then let me help out with some things that are about to happen to you:

1) That Asian guy on the yacht with the hot hookers...no, you will not get that for your enrollement in his real estate class.

2) You will not grow back a full head of hair with any of those products.

3) That herbal remedy ad in the sports section will not grow your penis, even though the ad appears in a reputable news publication.

4) Amway will not make you rich.

5) Spray painting your bald head with that Ronco can and stencil will fool exactly zero hot chicks. Stay away from ANY chick who doesn't notice that you painted your fool head.

6) If you use that shaving gel, female hands will not magically appear and rub your face.

7) Cortislim only works on your wallet.

8) Spuds McKenzie has a better chance with the Swedish Bikini Team than anybody who actually drinks Bud Lite.

9) Chuck Norris's body machine will not make you look like that guy in the ad. Notice, not even Chuck Norris looks like that guy in the ad.

10) You cannot grow great abs, gluts, or pecs in five weeks at five minutes per day.

There, hope that helps. I just saved you more than you spent on those idiotic speakers!

You can thank me later.

P.S. Not even Homer Simpson has ever been portrayed as being dumb enough to fall for that White Van trick!

Beef up those abs and pecs, boy...elections are in 3 months. In the name of decency, I won't comment on the glutes. Still, a little work in that area didn't hurt Ahh-nold, now did it? And it might help a bit if you stopped ogling the high-school chicks and got yourself a respectable wife, you know? You can grope the strange stuff later, after elections, a la Bill, Ted, and the Gropemeister. And heed the Buddha -- no 5-minute workouts for you! You're gonna need 'roids and 3 hours a day at Gold's. Love the mustache, though...how could anyone refuse to shop in this store?

This is an all-timer, Jeff. We need a separate photo gallery for these pics. You know, to gain the public trust.

Ok, first let me say I was skeptical about the Elite Audio speakers when they were presented to me by a friend here in FLA. They have a wharehouse here, but I had the luxury of hearing them on my friends analog stereo. Loud, clear, f'n impressive. So, the day came where they had a set of EA 2840's available for me. I was quite skeptical, he wanted $400. Sorry no van, just a friend who knows a drug addict at their wharehouse. I made a deal: Let me hook them up to my Yamaha stereo (model HTR-5790) 110W X 7. I put it on 2 channel stereo and cranked Disturbed and some House music. Both were nothing less than phenomenal. The 10" woofer barely moved at -5db, or anything else for that matter. They performed as claimed. Clarity like I've never seen. I am an engineer for a wireless CO., I don't work for them and have seen the infamous white van's before and never bought sh.. from them. And, still wouldn't.

On this long skeptical rant from you and others(I guess me too now), there was one crucial thing missing, no tests, just valid skepticism due to the high price. the price was a hard pill to swallow. But, I didn't pay it, so.....

Well, I own the EA 2840's now and have had many visitors come over to show my new toy. Not a single complaint. It would take 400 bucks alone to make the case to put the fake speakers in and create a a fake set of these to be sold on the street to rip someone off. I have them and from top to bottom they are the real Mcoy.

Now, if you call the number in the June issue they will refer you to TH research if their (Elite Audio) web page is still down, same sh.. different label. TR 2840 has similar specs.

If my house catches fire and the speakers blow, I promise I'll come back and apologize, but I suggest finding a wharehouse near you via the number they give and take the plunge. They probabaly won't sell them to you at that shocking price anyways, that's just designed to shake up the competition.

Elite Audio is the same as Theater Research, as mentioned by one of the other skeptics. They Like Alienware, ABSPC, and a million other companies, they sell their products online. For speakers, that's kind of sketchy, but sound rooms are too sometimes. Sound rooms are perfectly dimensioned and rigged to make the set up sound it's best. Then when you get home it's never quite the same. If online is your choice, I guess ebay may be cheaper, but I can only vouch for the EA 2840's as far a sound and quality goes.

They will actually sell you their speakers at the prices you saw. It's shocking that anyone would pay that. But, they do perform well(not $2500 a piece well, but better than $600 a piece Polk's, Harman Kardon's, etc.).

I saw all the white van skeptic rhetoric and don't doubt that it happens. OOPS I know it happens. They know it happens, they are a warehouse distributor, so it's more or less unavoidable.

So, if you want them, and it seems nobody does. But anyways, if so, find a warehouse near you and see if you can get them at a discount and test them first. I'm sure you'll see where I'm coming from. Mine scream. My friends do too. I wouldn't by them off a white van, because if they are damaged or gutted, your stuck. If you go to the warehouse, you can go back. That's my scenario. the only other option is to pay full price online. If your actually leaning towards that, just go to Sound Advice or some higher end local dealer and by Boston Acoustic or something. You'll get the same thing for a $1000 per speaker instead of $2300, jesus $2300, f'n nuts.

Also, CES does exist and Theater Research was there. As far as the awards go, I have no idea. That part is undeniably sketchy, but I'm not a audio dealer. I have a month before I have to pay the other half for these, so if I'm missing something please enlighten me.

My friend has had his Elite Audio/Theater Research speakers for over a year now, he doesn't exactly operate on an even mixture. He gets drunk and turns his 2 channel 80's stereo up to where it pisses you off all the time and those speakers hold up fine and sound pretty good. I say the high's are their best quality (EA-2840's). If you like heavy metal you'd be happy. The price in the magazine is a hands down bargain tactic, but all these arguments were complaints about the price. YES, that's utter BS. But, let's get to what these things do and what they look like in person. For $400 bucks I think they are well worth every penny. They are good Theater speakers. Alone, as with no surround system they are OK. They lack a little in mid base. The 10" woofer is good, but the high's are overwhelming, I guess you could EQ it to your liking, but my point is they are worth the eBay prices. (I'm only talking about the EA 2840's). All else I have not purchased seen or know S about.

Go to your local specialized speaker dealer and see what you can get in a case like the EA-2840's that come with aluminum mids, a screaming horn tweeter, a tough side firing 10" woofer and see what he shows you.

He'll show you name brands and high prices. $400 each maybe, on good day.....

So, like I said previously, ask for a test run, and if you don't like them, don't buy them and shut your mouth.

Do you think it costs those reputable co's the money they charge to make their speakers ? F, NO. Your mostly paying for the name. Bose is the most loved and hated example out there. BUT, they sell speakers all day long on a name. Are they good ? Let the next forum begin........

Summary:

Are these speakers made in China ? YES. Were they designed & engineered in America ? Maybe.. Those sketchy awards make me wonder. Do they sound good, Yes. The cabinets are extremely nice and I'm happy. I wouldn't pay $2300 dollars each for fake boobs or real ones for that matter.

Yeah, sounds like a real bargain, "screamin" highs and all. You think you got a good deal, nothing like $2300 speakers selling for $400. You must be some kind o' business man, noone can get the best of you. $2300 speakers probably should have some pretty well know brand name drivers, no, pull one out, let us know what ya find. Eaton, Peerless, Celection, Emminence? Probably SUM-TING-WONG enterprises I'd bet. Does this take over cable B.S. or what?

Who said they were actually worth $2300, besides their article. For the most part, my argument was they were worth at least what they were sold to me at (for me $400 total). It's a dirty sales tactic, no argument there.Stereophile shouldn't be involved, no argument there. No one should buy speakers from the back of a white van, no argument there. And, by no means do I think I got speakers worth anywhere near $2300 dollars. I also, don't suggest buying any speakers without hearing them first. I did that....

I also went to Sound Advice, Best Buy and some other local independent higher end dealers and didn't find anything in cases that nice for less than $800-$1200 a piece. Plus, I listened to them. (on their $1000+ receivers and was impressed, but didn't have $2000 to spare. But there is a lot of coaching and other dirty sales tactic's in those places as well.

Also, I did a direct sound comparison with my HTR-5790 Yamaha receiver.

I had just purchased the below and had them at my house when the EA2840's were brought over. The 2840's had better & clearer high's hands down. Bass was a toss up. The Klipsch's had better quality woofers. I disconnected my sub and only went to a two channel set up for a direct comparison. I was looking for better highs for my current set up, so I returned the Klipsch Synergy III's (they were $313.49 each on sale).

In my 20 or so years of buying stereos: Pioneers, Aiwa, Denon, Sony, Yamaha. For the money I like Yamaha receivers the best. Denon's are sweet but you have to chunk out the cash to get the good ones. I did chunk out $870 for my Yamaha-HTR5790 when it came out, so I guess I'm a fool for that, but I've been more than satisfied with the quality.

Speakerwise, I have blown the Pioneers I had back in the late 80's,the Aiwa's I had in the Army in the 90's, and the Yamaha's I got with my old Yamaha receiver 01'. When I did, I bought new speakers and shut the F up. If these blow, I'll do the same.

Do you live in Detroit or something ?

Who cares if some SUM-TING-WONG enterprise built them. They build better cars, stereo's, DVD players and most other electronics than us anways. We invent the item, they make it better & faster. It sucks, but it's true. We ship the materials out, they import the products back. Deal with it.

I'm SOL if they blow, I know, but after hearing my friends for over a year now, I'll take my chances.

If you could just get over the stupid $2300, you'd understand my point.

Does anyone else out there have these exact speakers that could enlighten me as to how they suck as far as sound goes ? I'm done arguing about the sales tactic. Everyone has one.

The previous discussion of the said speaker's sonic attributes aside, I'm wondering this:

What screening process or filter would the skeptics here have S'phile apply that would exclude the Elite/Theater Research Products but approve the high end's more esoteric and unique products? Measurements? Intent? CES street "cred"?

ELITE AUDIO MY HUSBAND BROUGHT A PAIR OF EA-2880 HOME.HE SAID HE GOT A GREAT DEAL. I DIDNT ASK HOW GREAT OF A DEAL HE GOT. BUT HERE IS MY QUESTION: HOW DO YOU HOOK THEM UP TO THE STEREO?WE ARE NO STEREO PROS. YUST THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT LIKE TO LISTEN TO MUSIC EVERY NOW AND THEN.SO I TRIED TO HOOK THEM UP YUST LIKE ANY REGULAR STE OF SPEAKERS, BUT ONLY ONE SIDE WORKS. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME, TELL ME, HOW TO DO IT RIGHT?!?XANX

WELL HIMY HUBBY GOT THE SAME SPEAKERS FROM SOME TRUCK. PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW TO HOOK THEM UP TO THE STEREO. I AM NOT VERY "STEREO SMART" AND DONT KNOW HOW TO CONNECT THEM TO THE STEREO.I AM SURE THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF ABOUT THAT, BUT, GUESS WE ALL HAVE TO BE BEGINNERS AT SOME POINT.

SUM-TING-WONG does not build better anything, just cheaper, and copies of the real thing. Deal with it. SUM-TING-WONG never created anything except a wall and some gunpowder. You buy the first Chinese car imported into the U.S., good luck. china finally decided to join the real world in teh last 20 years, after how many thousands and the last hundred wasted doing nothing. all the European and U.S. companies build operations there, so they steal teh ideas and procedures, VW/Audi set up a factory where #1 car in China, chinese govt' builds SUM-TING-WONG motors copies Audi designs calls it the Great wall automotive, steals all teh ideas, VW/Audi lost like $500MILLION on their thieviery. Yet since teh mkt is gonna be so big over there as people get more buying power, when they finally stop working for $10/day...all the majors need to be there. Most Chinese compaines are fronts for govt' military run operations, where a lot of teh money goes into building up the military. China is hardly anyones ally, they have the take over mentality, hardly a friend of the U.S. so keep buying and supporting Chinese made shit, I try to avoid as much as possible, best stuff is still European and U.S. made inovations and concepts in electronics and machinery is not Chinese, nor Japanese. Korea is kicking both their asses as far as growing and producing stuff, same scene mostly, U.S. and European companies set up LG Philips for one, in LCD #1 in teh world..Samsung is neck and neck, Samsung comes out of nowhere and dominates a lot of markets, guess who they copy? Hyundai dude copies guess who to flood the mkt with cars, became biggest ship builder due to U.S. and European involvment....and the same story continues just like Japan in the 50's.

I don't know how many empty bottles of Jergins & old Stereophile magazines your life involves, but clearly you are more qualified to voice an opinion about these things than me.

I'm not about to side with the Chinese in some sort of amateur debate over their economic and political structure. We do about 11 trillion dollars of business fiscally and they do 2. They are growing faster than we are at present and we should work to become more competitive. That's all I'm going to say about that.

You should help that women (hpc) hook her speakers up. She's just your speed.

Now....

Back to what I give a S about.

Does anyone else, besides "DUP", have any facts relative to the performance of the EA2840's.

Has anyone else purchased these speakers listened to them and have a factual experience to share besides myself ?

Mine still sound great to me.

In fact, I just got my first BRAVO JULIET while listening to them during a movie. Ironically the chick was Chinese. I wonder if I should tell her that in an indirect way I compensated her government for her work.

Ok, I should change my name because Got Duped because I have had mine (EA 2880's) hooked up for a couple of months now and I love them. I get compliments from my friends when they come over and I think i got a deal @ $140 for the pair.

The only thing I have a gripe with is that when I took off those S shaped brackets that connected the lower red/black connectors to the higher ones and hooked up the "Sub Out" to the bottom, it wasn't pushing the sub, but maybe it was my receiver at fault on that one. I will co more research and let you guys know.